Buzz Button.

When you go to a bar, do you peruse menu to find a cool cocktail created by a "mixologist" or do you have a go to cocktail that you always order? I kind of do both, it really depends on my mood, but when I'm in Las Vegas, a culinary creative mecca, I always want to try specialty cocktails that I can't find at home.

One of my favorite bars in all of Las Vegas is the Chandelier Bar at the Cosmopolitan hotel and I'm a big fan of their Bloody Mary, but this past time I was there, I wanted something more fresh and light for a nightcap. I asked the bartender what he could recommend to me and he let me in on a drink that's on their "secret menu". I'm letting you guys all in on the secret, because it's too awesome not to share! And trust me, you will love it.

The drink is called the Verbena and it is only served on the second floor of the chandelier bar. It is a basic margarita, but with a little extra something...a small flower resides on the surface of the margarita and its not just for show. The flower is a Sichuan flower and in the culinary world, its also referred to as a the buzz button.

When he served it to me, the bartender mentioned that this drink came with instructions. The instructions were to drink the margarita and get a good taste of it, then to put the whole flower in your mouth and chew on it for 15-20 seconds making sure to chew on both sides of your mouth and swallow it, and then to finally drink the margarita again. I didn't know what to expect, but I definitely could not have anticipated what happened.

It's called a buzz button for a reason. In the first 5 seconds I began chewing it, my whole mouth started to tingle, then that tingle turned into a prickle, until my whole mouth was buzzing and numb. After I ate the flower, I took another sip of the margarita again and the taste was completely different! I could definitely taste the flavors and ingredients in it a whole lot more, and this is exactly what the flower does. It speeds up your salivary glands and makes you a supertaster. 

Its unlike anything I've every tried and its an absolute must if you're in Vegas! It was so cool that I'm actually considering buying some of those Sichuan flowers and seeing what else it could open my tastebuds up to. But take it from me, this is a drink on a secret menu you'll be happy I told you about. 

Ice Cubes & Flowers.

If you're like me, sometimes you may think that your drinks like water or wine can use a boost of fun and flavor to change things up a bit. I always like adding a little lemon to my water or berries to my champagne, but I wanted to try something different. During one of my many trips to Sprouts and Whole Foods, I always noticed they had edible flowers in their produce section, thought they were cute, and wondered what I could do with them. Then it came to me...ice cubes! I thought this was the perfect way to spice up my drinks, especially with summer coming up.

I bought my edible flowers in a package from Sprouts in the produce section. The package included a mix of flowers that are currently in season including Marigolds, Snapdragons, and Dahlias.

I have this really awesome ice tray that makes ice cubes in the shape of diamonds, which I used to make my ice cubes. As a woman in the gold and diamond industry, I HAD to have this! I bought mine for a steal at Burlington Coat Factory, but you can get one online on Amazon here.

Normally when making ice cubes, the cubes come out all cloudy, but I didn't want that cloudiness to take over the pretty colors of the flowers. To fix this, I boiled the water I was going to use for the cubes twice to get rid of the minerals in the water that cause the cloudiness. While I waited for the water to cool down a bit after boiling, I arranged 2-3 flowers in the ice cube tray in an aesthetically pleasing way. Once the water cooled down, I poured it into the ice tray. I let it sit overnight, but if you're impatient, you can have them ready sooner. Just allow up to 6 hours for the water to set.

They come out looking so pretty! The flowers are a really easy way to flavor your drinks and healthy (depending on what drink you put it in ;)). You could put it in water or lemonade, but I decided to put it in Prosecco! I know what you're thinking...maybe the ice waters down the Prosecco...but actually the cubes are so small that when it melts it's not a whole lot of water and either way, its flavored by the flowers.

This was a fun way to change things up with how I drink...both visually and through taste. Next time, I think I'll try to infuse my ice cubes with some summer berries!

Odys + Penelope.

 I try to have a girls' night with my best friend, Natalie, every month or so, and she's the perfect date, because she always wants to try out new places and sample and share a few things off the menu, which is exactly what I like to do! Last week, she and I ventured to the restaurant Odys + Penelope on La Brea for a night out.

Odys + Penelope is a churrasco (grilled meat) style restaurant, known for their wood fired smoker and open grill in the heart of the restaurant. Most of their menu items are focused around smoked ingredients and are fired in the wood oven. The restaurant is run by Quinn and Karen Hatfield, who are also behind The Sycamore Kitchen. The design inside is very minimal, but it somehow gives it a certain charm. I especially liked that they had a long wall shelf of firewood, ready to be put into the wood fire oven.

We got to the restaurant a little earlier than our reservation, so we started out by having a couple of drinks by the bar. I'm really into mixed whiskey or bourbon drinks, so I ordered this drink that was comprised of bourbon, blackberries, bitters, and amaro. I think the drinks are seasonal so my drink may not always be on the menu, but judging by the taste I had of my friend's drink, you won't go wrong ordering any of them.

So we began ordering a few starters. First, was the fried wild mushrooms with Persian garlic sauce. To be honest, I anticipated these being more crispy than they were. They were still really tasty, but a bit soggy. I absolutely could not get enough of the Persian garlic sauce. Coming from a Persian-Armenian background and knowing a lot about Persian food, I have no idea what makes this sauce Persian, but who cares? It was delicious! The dried, candied lemon garnishes were also actually really tasty.

My girl and I can never say no to fries, so we ordered some of those too. They were seasoned with za'atar, a Mediterranean spice that's really tangy and lemony. We both like dipping our fries in ranch, but the yogurt aioli that was paired with the fries was a really great compliment to them.

I think my favorite appetizer we had was the warm cheese puffs served with a smoked tomato romesco sauce. Oh my God! They were a fluffy, cheesy pastry that was made even better by dipping it into the sauce. I strongly recommend these as a starter. We actually considered ordering another serving of them :X

For our main dish, we shared the slow grilled tri-tip with charred broccoli and O+P béarnaise sauce. The meat was so tender and the béarnaise was the perfect add on to it. I also could not stop eating the broccoli. Natalie had to stop me, because little did I know, the best part of the meal was coming up.

What can I say about this chocolate rye pie? I'll start by saying Karen Hatfield, who is a renowned pastry chef, is behind it so you know it's going to be good. Second, this dessert was named on the list of top 10 desserts in LA by EaterLA. Finally, my honest opinion...it was definitely one of the best desserts I've had! It was super chocolatey and warm, so it was a great contrast to the cold malted ice cream on its side. The peanut crumble on top was also like icing on the cake of this amazing dessert.

Rosé Wishes and Lavender Dreams

A few weeks ago, I ventured to the LA County Museuem of Art to check out the acclaimed Rain Room exhibit (which was awesome, by the way!). Since I didn't have a ticket to the exhibit I had to be put on stand by for a ticket holder to not show up. In the meantime, I trekked the other exhibits at the museum, but still had time so I decided to get a drink at the cute little restaurant on site, Ray and Stark's Bar.

Now, I'm not necessarily into really fruity drinks, I tend to go for the drinks with bourbon, but one item on the cocktail menu immediately caught my eye...the Rosé Wishes and Lavender Dreams! I love lavender and rosé and thought it would be an interesting combination together, and quite honestly, how could anyone not love the name of the drink? I bet even Robin Leach would love to try this. The drink consisted of sparkling rosé wine, lavender syrup, vodka, and lemon.

I've been to a lot of bars in LA and have had some really great drinks, and I can honestly say that this drink at Ray and Stark's Bar is one of my top 5 favorite cocktails in LA! It has a hefty amount of vodka in it as well, but with the flavors of the rosé, lavender, and a splash of lemon, you can barely taste it. It feels like you're drinking a fancy soda. Fair warning: the drink really creeps up on you...you can barely taste the vodka, but trust me, it's there!

I don't live super close to LACMA and I can't be going there every time I feel like having this drink so I attempted to make it at home, and it actually came out quite successfully! If you can't make it to LA and want to try this drink, I'm bringing it to you with this quick recipe. Make adjustments where you wish (i.e. the amount of vodka), but either way, you are sure to love it! I, personally, couldn't find sparkling rosé, which the bar used, so I just used a Love Noir non sparkling rosé wine.

Rosé Wishes and Lavender Dreams
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• Lavender syrup (1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 3 tablespoons lavender leaves)
• The juice of 1 medium sized lemon
• 1.5 cups Rosé wine (sparkling or non sparkling)
• 3 shots vodka
• Cocktail shaker
• Jigger 

Directions:

1. Start by making the lavender syrup. Boil 1 cup of water with 3 tablespoons of lavender leaves. Once it has boiled, add 1 cup of sugar until it dissolves in the water. Strain the lavender leaves from the mixture and let cool. 

      2. In a cocktail shaker filled halfway with ice, add 1.5 cups of Rosé wine. **Note: if you're using             sparkling wine, don't shake it in the shaker! Shake the other ingredients first then add the                     sparkling wine after.  

      3. Using a jigger, add 3 shots of vodka to the wine. 

      4. Pour 1 shot of the lavender syrup into the mixture in the shaker. 

      5. Squeeze the juice of 1 lemon into the mixture. 

      6. Seal the shaker and shake the ingredients all together. 

      

      7. Pour the drink into a martini glass and garnish with some lavender leaves. 

      8. Enjoy!  

Cheers! 

The Attic.

Last weekend, I ventured out to Long Beach for an event, and had heard great things about this cute place to eat called The Attic. It's nestled in a nice little area near downtown and has such a homey feel so I decided to try it out.

Walking in was like walking into a backyard barbecue at a friends house. It's really welcoming and cozy. I sat in the patio outside, which had comfy couches and multi patterned tables. It overlooked the street and the weather that day made it a perfect vibe. 

As a lover of Bloody Mary's, I was so excited to see a page full of different types of Bloody Mary's they served. Each one had a different type of garnish on top of it. My boyfriend got the Meaty Man Bloody Mary, which used bacon infused vodka and was garnished with a slider and Slim Jim stuffed olive. I loved mine...the Caprese Bloody Mary with basil infused vodka and a tomato, basil, and mozzarella garnish. They were both to die for. 

The star of the show, though, was what this place is known for...Mac and Cheetos! It doesn't get more decadent than this, people! A glorious cheddar and mozzarella macaroni and cheese topped with hot Cheetos! There are so many add ons you can get to it too. I added some bacon, but kind of regret not getting avocados too. If you're looking for even more decadence, you can even add a fried egg on top of it! 

If you're looking for other comfort food dishes, I also recommend the chicken pot pie. The flaky crust on top of a hearty pot pie is just a feel good meal. 

Honorable mention to the bison burger, which my boyfriend said tasted really good, but I'm just not a huge fan of bison. 

Next time you're out in Long Beach and looking for a great place to comfort your foodie soul, try out The Attic, you won't be sorry! Happy eating! 

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate.

With winter here, the cold weather, and the holidays in the air, hot chocolate is the perfect comfort drink for the season. I was craving a rich cup of hot chocolate last night so I decided to make one and add a little fun spin to it...by making it a red velvet hot chocolate!

So red velvet cake is basically a cake flavored with cocoa powder for a chocolate-y taste and vinegar to make the cake rich and fluffy. Red food coloring started being added to this cake batter years after its creation to enhance the red color. I basically added these same concepts (minus the vinegar) to typical hot chocolate ingredients. It turns out so rich and, well...velvety! You'll definitely want to share these with friends and family. 

These are the ingredients I used...

I started by simmering skim 1% milk in a pot. Most people use whole milk, which makes the drink creamier, but I personally can't take the taste of all the fat in whole milk. 

After simmering the milk, I added cocoa powder and semisweet chocolate until the chocolate melted and the cocoa was incorporated. To the mixture, I added vanilla and some red food coloring to enhance the chocolate flavors and intensify the red color. And voila! 

I topped it all off with mini marshmallows which nicely melt into the hot chocolate. I'm dreaming of this hot chocolate as I type this, it was that good! (Recipe at end of post) 

I enjoyed my yummy red velvet hot chocolate by the fireplace surrounded by Christmas decor. 

Ingredients: 

2 cups milk of your choice 

2 tablespoons cocoa powder 

1/2 cup of semi sweet chocolate (chopped or chocolate chips) 

1 teaspoon vanilla 

1 teaspoon red food coloring 

Directions: 

1. Put the milk into a pot and heat on medium until it simmers. 

2. Once the milk has simmered, add the cocoa powder and semi sweet chocolate and whisk until melted and incorporated into the milk. 

3. Add the vanilla and food coloring. Whisk until incorporated. 

4. Ladle the hot chocolate into a mug and too with marshmallows. 

New Logo!

Thanks to my amazing boyfriend, I finally have a cute little logo to go with my blog. And that means an official little image that my followers can associate my posts with! This logo perfectly captures the essentials of my blog: sunglasses representing fashion, which reflects a skyline of Los Angeles representing LA lifestyle and a popping bottle of champagne, representing my inner epicure and fabulous foods and drinks. I'm so excited to share it with all of you!...

A special, special thank you again to Seto Asatourian, my graphic designer and a whole lot more.

Meat District Co.

The other night, my girl friend and I decided to extend our list of eating at the best burger spots in LA so we paid a visit to Meat District Co. in Pasadena to try out their burgers. Let me just say, the quality of the beef here is spectacular. It's really juicy and tender. In addition to the 10 types of different burgers, the menu is riddled with so many different meals like hot dogs and BBQ ribs. I didn't get a chance to try any of those, but the burgers and side dishes were amazing. I was impressed by everything from the menu to the food to the dessert.

How cute is this meat cleaver shaped menu?

A wall of wines...my heaven.

Our flights of white wine.

Transparent refrigerator filled with fresh meat. 

Southwestern Burger: 1/2 lb of beef with potato rosti, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, and arugula.

Honorable mention burger: Truffle Burger 1/2 lb of beef with truffle Parmesan, arugula, roasted peppers, tomato, and truffle aoili. 

French fries.

Truffle mashed potatoes.

We had a milkshake for dessert including creme caramel pudding with a butterscotch shake mixed with Ferrero Rocher. To die for...make it a point for your next burger craving!

Fancy Ass Hot Chocolate.

Isn't it supposed to be getting warmer here in LA? I'm spoiled with the weather here, so I'm still trying to cope with it. One of the ways I do this is through comfort foods and drinks...and what's more comforting in this cold than hot chocolate?! The powdered stuff is okay, but nothing comes close to the way I make my "fancy ass" hot chocolate. I use milk and diced dark chocolate to make this magic happen.

Ingredients. 

So yummy!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of milk (I use skim milk, but whole milk makes it more decadent)
• 1 stick of cinnamon 
• 1 tablespoon of white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 3 ounces chopped dark chocolate
• 1 pinch of Ancho chile powder (optional)
• 1 pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Heat the cinnamon stick in the milk  mixed with sugar and vanilla in a medium saucepan under low heat.
2. Heat until the milk mixture gently simmers then take off the heat. Let it steep for 10-15 minutes.
3. Remove the cinnamon stick and discard. 
4. Chop the dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat the chocolate in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, mix after every 30 seconds until it is completely melted.
5. Place the steeped milk over medium low heat and add the melted chocolate to it. Whisk until completely incorporated and mixture is hot. 
6. Add a pinch of salt and Ancho chile powder.
7. Divide between mugs and top with marshmallows.

Makes 2 cups of hot chocolate. 

Voila!

Thanksgiving.

I love the fall season and one of my favorite parts of it is Thanksgiving. I love everything about it...the food, the family, the Black Friday sales. So this year when Thanksgiving was held at my house, I was so excited and so ready to get into the spirit. 

Usually, my mom makes the entire feast, but this year I offered to make all the side dishes and leave the turkey to her. I hope to one day be able to make a turkey as good as hers, but making the sides was a good start for me. In addition, I went crazy over making the table setting this year and actually prepared for it for weeks in advance. Everyone's Thanksgiving is special and I hope mine can inspire some of you for next year!

So I began preparing the table setting a couple of weeks before the big day...

I made these burlap place settings with burlap ribbon and washable fabric glue. I did it by folding different lengths on a 4 x 22 inch cut of ribbon. See next photo...

On a 22 inch ribbon, fold 2 inches one way, 6 inches the other way, then 5 inches from the side you folded 2 inches from. Glue with washable fabric glue and place a heavy object on it to seal thoroughly.

Then I made the centerpieces using a large cylindrical vase and adding small pumpkins, squash, and walnuts and topping it off with a candle. I wrapped it up in the leftover burlap ribbon from the place settings and a festive bow. 

I wanted keep a rustic undertone to the table so I arranged mason jars as glasses instead of regular cups. And to top off I added paper straws that fit in with the Thanksgiving color scheme. 

The drinks I made for our guests were so yummy. In a pitcher, I just added 4 cups of orange juice to 1 cup of vodka, a few tablespoons of the syrup in maraschino cherry jars, 3 rosemary sprigs, and 2 lemons. 

Appetizers should be kept light so people save room for the Thanksgiving feast! I decided to make a veggie tray shaped like a turkey. Gobble Gobble! 

This was my take on stuffing. To 1.5 pounds of rosemary olive oil bread, I added simmered onions, roasted mushrooms, parsley, sage, thyme, and garlic and I mixed it all with 3 cups of chicken stock and 2 eggs. Baked it at 375 for 30 minutes and voila!

My Brussels Sprouts were a huge hit this year. I halved and  roasted the sprouts in olive oil, salt, and pepper at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. When they came out of the oven, I mixed them with cranberries and walnuts and finally topped it off with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. The balance of the ingredients can be tailored to your liking! I like the taste of tart cranberries so I added a lot of those. 

Okay guys, this green bean casserole was by far the favorite side dish of the night and I like to attribute it to the fact that I did NOT use canned cream of mushroom soup! Instead I made a Bechamel sauce, which is just 5 tablespoons of melted butter mixed with 4 tablespoons of flour. Add 4 cups of heated milk and season with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg. I mixed this sauce with blanched green beans, roasted mushrooms, and French fried onions in a buttered pan. Finally, I topped it with more French fried onions and baked it at 350 for 25 minutes. So delicious!

Sorry (not sorry) that half of these mashed potatoes were eaten before I could get a picture of it, but apparently it was that good. My favorite potatoes to use are red potatoes because the consistency is really thick but still smooth. It's easy to get lumps out with red potatoes, and I like my mashed potatoes without the lumps! You can even leave the skins on, as the skins on red potatoes are actually nutritious and have been said to improve cognitive function. I added 1 cup of warm milk and 4 tablespoons of butter to make it extra soft and creamy.

Not pictured: Cranberry sauce made by adding 1 cup cranberries to 2 cups of boiling water with orange zest in it. The cranberries will burst in the heat to make the sauce!

I finally finished off the meal with a Rose Apple Pie. I wish I could take credit for this recipe, but I got it from acozykitchen.com and it is to die for. It's topped with a bourbon glaze and it's oh so decadent. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving this year and that this post served as some inspiration for next year! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Plan Check.

I'm always on the hunt for the next great burger in LA and when I heard about Plan Check, I knew I had to try it immediately. There are three locations, I went to the Downtown LA location and it did not disappoint. And the $6 happy hour old fashions didn't hurt either!

We sat in a half indoor, half outdoor area and overlooked Downtown as we enjoyed our dinner.

Checked in on Yelp for free beer nuts. I don't know what herbs these are roasted with, but it was very tasty.

Plan Check is known for their "ketchup leather". It's a "slice" of ketchup if you will...it looks like a slice of cheese but it's a concentrated ketchup that melts in your mouth when you eat it. It was so amazing...

Yummy ketchup leathery goodness. 

The Korean BBQ burger was also really yummy, but my plan is to eat the Chef's Favorite burger, which has a sunny fried egg and bacon. 

Connie & Ted's.

For my boyfriend's birthday, I like to take him out to dinner and every year its the same old steakhouse type of restaurant (since he loves steak so much), but this year I thought I'd try something different and take him to a seafood spot in West LA. I had heard so many great things about Connie & Ted's so I decided to try it out and see what it was about. It was so so worth the risk of trying out a new place for a special occasion! If you like seafood, this is a great place for you. They serve things up in a fresh, new way that you wouldn't expect and that you wouldn't see in any other restaurant.

Guys, I'm not kidding when I say one...everything is fresh, and two...the Angels on Horseback are a MUST for a starter! The raw oysters were to die for...the kinds they have change every day, but our waiter gave us great recommendations. Their drinks were pretty awesome too.

I loved their "Catch of the Day" special, which included a filet of a fresh market fish of your choice served with either an herb crust, herb oil and lemon, or plain, and a side dish of your choice.

I totally forgot the names of our drinks, but mine had tamarind on the rim...yummy!

Raw oysters with Mignonette sauce.

Angels on Horseback: oysters wrapped in bacon on top of toast in a lemony sauce. I cannot emphasize enough how delicious this was. 

Hot lobster roll with butter sauce and fries. 

Grilled Catch of the Day: market striped bass with an herb crust and side of mac and cheese.

Happy Birthday to the bestest guy!